It's called second-season syndrome. Unfashionable also-rans suddenly start competing with the traditional powers and even usurp them on the European stage but then, come the dawning of a new season, realise they have to start all over again. Cue to Connacht.

Newly installed Connacht director of rugby Glenn Ross recognises the pitfalls of trying to emulate last year's feat without the element of surprise. "Yeah, it can be harder the second time around, but it shouldn't necessarily be the case and we should continue to make progress once we've been given a fair crack of the whip.

"But I've seen it so many times in rugby where a team gets pigeonholed into the lesser ranks and have struggled to come to terms with the so-called stronger teams traditionally. We're still at the foot of a very steep learning curve and we have to keep absorbing the lessons of the last few years."

Ross, as a mentor of Warren Gatland's at Hamilton Old Boys and then Waikato, ought at least to ensure some continuity in approach at Connacht.

On the back of last season's memorable run to the European Conference quarter-finals after home and away wins over Northampton and Begles-Bordeaux, expectation levels are higher than they've ever been.

Connacht finished fourth last season, albeit missing out on European Cup qualification on points difference for the second year running. "We're still recognised as the fourth best team, although we're a lot closer to the third best team than we were five years ago."

At full strength, Connacht ought certainly be able to compete, though the absence of Conor McGuinness leaves Eric Elwood as their only international against Munster's seven this Saturday at the Sportsground. A cursory look at the replacements' benches and A sides also underlines Connacht's comparative lack of experience and depth.

"Certainly we've got weaknesses in Connacht but collective unity can often overcome these weaknesses. It's a difficult call for us but it's not an impossibility. These things come with age and with the right mental hardness we can compete to win matches as opposed to going out to stay in the match."

Ross doesn't doubt the squad's work ethic or motivation, but frequently adds the rejoinder "once we get a fair crack at the whip". By this he could be referring to the McGuinness injury, or the offfield administrative miscalculation which decreed that Simon Allnutt is still a registered overseas player and so therefore fellow kiwi Martyn Steffert will not be eligible for them this season alongside Junior Charlie.

More pertinently, Ross is refer ring to something Gatland alluded to regularly last season. "I've been around a bit, through my New Zealand upbringing and stint in Northampton, and I've seen teams stay at the top longer than they should have on the basis that they were well looked after by referees. I don't want to be seen as a critic of referees; it's just a mental thing that comes with the expectation of where teams should be sitting in the pecking order. Mentally, teams like Connacht can be pigeon-holed and it's a difficult thing for referees to overcome."

The 44-year-old from Matamata certainly has been around, and seems to specialise in a challenge such as the Connacht one judging by a CV that includes transforming outposts such as Hamilton Old Boys, Waikato, Northampton and Otago.

"To be an international coach is not something I aspire to, which often entails being a selector alone, although I know that's changing," says Ross.

Ross places great store in establishing the correct structures for players, coaches and administrators. He likes the layered, club/province/international team structures of Irish rugby, all controlled by the union, as opposed to one with "a group of independent clubs who sit in the middle and pull strings at both ends of the network". One change Ross would favour is a re-alignment of the Irish season which would see the club campaign served up first.

Ask him what his coaching philosophy is and he responds: "I like to win. Winning is a very important ingredient to everything else we do in life, it's what we're designed to try and achieve. I also think that 15-man rugby is demanded of us in this day and age.

"People come along to see tries being scored, so therefore I like my teams to attempt to win with a bit of style but to develop this philosophy around basic concepts and principles. Over the years, they've remained fairly much the same. Players are fitter and the game is faster but the basics still apply, starting with set-pieces."

Being competitive, and winning home games at least, would enable Connacht to maintain this season's target of "holding on to what we achieved last year" while, three years down the road and beyond, he envisages a more utopian ideal. "That young men in the region will come through the Connacht system and play for their province."